I'm older now, and simple beer pleasures are the most meaningful to me. They tend to be encountered locally. It is my aim to get unplugged and explore some of them, slowly and thoughtfully. I'd tell you where it's leading, except that I've no idea ... and that's the whole point of the journey: To find out.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Kudos to Holy Grale and Sergio's for making Draft's "best beer bars" list.

National eyes have turned to the Louisville beer scene once again, and as someone who's been in the trenches for a quarter-century, constantly fighting these battles ... come to think of it, sometimes before many local commentators were even born ... let me just say that it's a wonderful thing, indeed.

And so, congratulations to Holy Grale and Sergio's. Louisville is richer because of establishments like these, and I echo noted IPA lover Mr. Spock in saying: "Pour long and prosper, guys."

When we speak with craft beer lovers in other parts of the country, it's an unparalleled selling point to be able to tell folks that in addition to an ever-expanding local independent craft brewing scene in metro Louisville and the surrounding region, there are world-class beer bars aplenty -- in fact, some of the best anywhere.

Praise also is due the justly fabled Heorot in Muncie, Indiana, although Draft's list writer is plainly foolish to dismiss Indiana-at-large by suggesting the Heorot is "often the lone Indiana stop for craft brewers crossing the Midwest."

Really?

With more than a dozen local craft breweries in the Indianapolis area alone, not to mention Twenty Tap and other excellent purveyors in the state capital? But Heorot's inclusion is amply merited, and it is one of many reasons to visit Indiana for beer, something that can be said about the metro Louisville area as well.